Jang Dong-hyuk becomes new leader of South Korea's largest opposition party: Can the divided party reunite?

South Korea's largest conservative opposition party, the People's Power Party, recently elected Jang Dong-hyuk (56) as its new leader. Jang is the successor to Yoon Seo-gyeol (2016-10-21), who declared "emergency martial law" in December last year.
He consistently opposed the impeachment of former President Yoon Seok-yeol. The South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo reported, "With the election of Rep. Chang, who represents the 'anti-impeachment' camp, there is a view that the internal conflict is likely to continue.
Jang has called for party reform, saying, "We will show a changed and united 'People Power,'" but the party's image has been significantly damaged by Yoon's impeachment and dismissal, and it will be difficult for the party to recover.
The reality is that this is not the case. On the 25th of last month, the party elected Chan as the new leader in a runoff election that reflected the results of party member votes (80%) and a national opinion poll (20%).
He won a direct presidential race against former Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo by 2,367 votes. Chang had been trailing Kim in opinion polls, but won the party member vote.
The South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported, "This is seen as the result of former mainstream lawmakers supporting the idea of 'generational change' and receiving instructions from hard-line party members."
Last December, then-President Yoon Seok-yeol declared "emergency martial law." "Emergency martial law" is a type of martial law stipulated by the South Korean Constitution.
Martial law is declared by the president in times of emergency, such as war, when military action is necessary, or to maintain public order. This was the first time martial law had been declared since the country's democratization in 1987.
Following the declaration, armed soldiers of the martial law army broke the glass and stormed into the National Diet Building. In a situation reminiscent of the military regime, many citizens gathered in front of the National Diet building and shouted slogans against martial law.
However, if a majority of members of the National Assembly request the lifting of martial law, the President must comply, and immediately after the declaration, a plenary session of the National Assembly was held.
At the meeting, all the lawmakers in attendance voted in favor of lifting the state of emergency. Yoon lifted it in just six hours. The opposition party at the time, the Democratic Party of Korea, and others, criticized Yoon for "attempting to suspend the constitutional order and seize permanent power."
The House of Representatives submitted a motion to impeach Yoon to the National Assembly, accusing him of violating the Constitution by accusing him of "attempting to stage a civil war." The motion was passed by a vote in the National Assembly, and Yoon was subsequently suspended from his duties.
Yoon was impeached in April of this year. As a result, a presidential election was held in South Korea in June of this year. The biggest issue was the evaluation of the Yoon administration, which had declared "emergency martial law," and the results of the vote showed that at the time,
Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea, the largest opposition party, was elected. The People Power Party fell to the opposition. During the election campaign, Lee characterized the People Power Party, which defended Yoon, as a "force of internal rebellion."
He added, "This election will judge the forces of insurgency that are trying to destroy the constitutional order. We will create a country where military coups that point guns at the people will not be repeated."
After the presidential election, there were calls from within the People Power Party for a complete overhaul, including the resignation of those who had failed to govern under the previous Yoon administration and a change of generation.
There were many calls for this. On the 26th of last month, the People's Power Party held a party convention to decide on a new leader. Four candidates ran in the party leadership election, but no candidate received a majority in the first round of voting, so a runoff election was held.
In the final vote, Chang narrowly defeated Kim, the former Minister of Employment and Labor, to become the new leader. Chang is a former member of Boryeong City, Chungnam-do, central Korea. After graduating from Seoul University,
After joining the Ministry of Education, he served as a judge for a long time. He was first elected in the 2022 National Assembly by-election and is currently serving his second term. Chang is considered close to Yoon and has opposed his impeachment.
As a result, conflict with the pro-impeachment faction was prominent during the leadership election process. The pro-impeachment faction argued that breaking with Yoon would lead to party renewal, but Chang characterized them as "internal enemies."
With Chang being elected as the new leader, public broadcaster KBS reported that "conflict within the party between those who support impeachment and those who oppose it is likely to become unavoidable."
Chang expressed his desire to overthrow the government, saying, "I will join forces with all right-wing citizens to bring down the Lee Jae-myung administration."
At the Supreme Committee meeting, he said, "We will show you a new image of the People's Power that we have not been able to show you before. Please watch over us. The People's Power must move forward with all party members united as one."
However, Dong-A Ilbo reported that "the conflict is likely to deepen as Jang has publicly stated that he cannot work with forces that attack from within."